It's 1950 and making a living in Barlick is hard because the country was almost bankrupt, We suffered rising prices and enormous rates of inflation. Things weren't helped by the fact that everything had been run down during the war and many homes were looking a bit worse for wear. Housing was helped when the Council built the new housing estates, the largest being Coates and the Ranch at Earby. However, there was one running sore in employment which, though everyone was trying to be optimistic, finally hit us.
Remember me saying that in July 1920, after the post WW1 restocking boom had petered out, the cotton industry entered into terminal decline and that mill closures started in the 1930s? Despite numerous government initiatives the decline was never checked and between 1950 and 1980 we lost virtually the whole of the weaving industry in the area. I was at Bancroft when we wove out in 1978 and many people shared this experience. I can tell you that there are few more soul destroying things than working in an industry that is dying. One saving grace was that at the latter end, many of the workers were either at, or very near, retiring age and so they didn't swell the ranks of the unemployed. It's quite amazing to look at the scale of the textile industry in the area in 1914 and reflect that what seemed all-powerful could melt away as fast as it grew. Remember that in Barlick alone there were 25,000 looms and full employment in the mills, many of the workers coming in from the outside. But somehow we managed the situation and survived. It says a lot about the character of the workers in Barlick and Earby that they accepted reality and got down to finding alternative employment. We were lucky because just at the time the weaving sheds were closing, the new industries were expanding and taking up the shortfall. Recognise that this wasn't due to any inspired government initiative or aid programme, it was sheer luck!
Barlick marched forwards into the 70s and 80s and shared in the increasing wealth of the country. True, there were occasional hitches along the way but on the whole making a living and increasing standards in the home became easier. Think of the changes we saw, TV, Washing machines, central heating and every modern convenience that a housewife could desire. Car ownership grew, foreign holidays became the norm, it had never been easier to travel. Old property was demolished and roads improved and all this gave work to the service industries. As Harold Macmillan said, “we had never had it so good”. It got to the stage in the 1990s where economists and politicians were talking about the 'New Economy', Boom and Bust was a thing of the past. As we all know now, this was a false dawn. We were in for a rude awakening but this time it was home grown!
The new Town Square
